NF a sunken treasure

[Jim in Wisconsin]

I just finished reading a little book by a man named Richard Bennett, who did a lot of skin diving in the 60's and 70's. The story is that there was a Confederate attempt to smuggle a bunch of gold in to help finance the war. It was obtained in either England or France and brought over on a ship called the Condor, accompanied by Rose Greenhow. It was unloaded at Halifax in Canada and was supposed to make it's way overland and then down Lake Michigan, and then who knows what. Somehow it got dumped into the lake near Poverty Island, way up in the north end of the lake. Rose stayed on the Condor and ended up downing as they tried to run the blockade.
Bennett never found the gold (of course) and I guess we'll never know if there ever was any. That's the trouble with secret operations, them spy types don't live to tell the tale, and wouldn't tell anyways.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Found any story that mentions 'gold' can often conjure the imagination and add another dimension of interest in what happened.

 

[Bruce Allardice]

Another "Confederate gold in Lake Michigan" fairy tale?
Does anyone stop to consider why a "fortune in gold" destined for the south would be sent via Lake Michigan?

 

[Jim in Wisconsin]

He goes into great detail about that, Canada was somewhat friendly to the Confederacy and getting the gold unloaded and shipped overland, then loaded onto another ship was thought to be better than trying to get through the blockade. There were other operations going on in Canada too.
That Rose Greenhow was quite the gal!

 

[Lincoln56]

References to Greenhow's drowning are attributed to gold she was carrying on her person. Said to be from
the sale in London of her book about her imprisonment. Below is one link to such an article; I've seen other references
to the gold she was carrying contributing to her demise.

Rose Greenhow, Confederate Spy, Drowning Victim

On October 1, 1864, Rose O’Neal Greenhow died while trying to run the blockade and pass into the port of Wilmington. The Washington, D.C. socialite and spy had…

www.ncdcr.gov

The alleged $2,500.00 adjusted for inflation would be $59,690.47 in 2023 dollars.

 

[Library Lady]

This is what Mr. Bennett put up on Kickstarter many years ago with apparently no success.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1401962530/the-sunken-treasure-of-poverty-island/?ref=kicktraq

 

[Tony Z]

More lost gold, just like the pot of gold here in NW Penna.!

 

[Tanglewood]

Found any story that mentions 'gold' can often conjure the imagination and add another dimension of interest in what happened.

Definitely, there's nothing like a treasure hunt. I like this verse from "The Spell of the Yukon" by Robert Service

There's gold, and it's haunting and haunting;
It's luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn't the gold that I'm wanting
So much as just finding the gold.

 

[Story]

If the Confederates' gold had more value being sent to Europe and turned into supplies for the Confederacy, why would Confederate gold go from Europe to America?

Asking for a friend.​

Treasure Hunter Probes Murky Depths Of Lake Michigan With PM-Lost Dutchman Bjt

MILWAUKEE (AP) _ It's only a wisp of a legend, but the lure of unfound treasure has obsessed Richard Bennett for almost two decades.

apnews.com

According to the legend, the French government, stymied by the Union's blockade of Confederate ports, shipped five chests of gold coins overland through Canada in 1863 to Escanaba, Mich.

The gold was supposedly loaded aboard a schooner headed down the Wisconsin coast to another port, where it was to be carried overland again to the Mississippi and then south into the heart of the Confederacy.

But off Poverty Island, a dot of land in northern Lake Michigan near Escanaba, French-Canadian brigands attacked the treasure ship and sank it, the legend says. Before it went down, the crew chained the chests together and tossed them overboard in relatively shallow water.

Bennett does not know the name of the vessel he's seeking. He knows of no record here or in France of its passage or mission.
But he believes the story.

 

[Jim in Wisconsin]

Then there's the story that Jeff Davis had a bunch of gold when he was captured and the Union troops got their hands on it.

 

[lupaglupa]

He goes into great detail about that, Canada was somewhat friendly to the Confederacy and getting the gold unloaded and shipped overland, then loaded onto another ship was thought to be better than trying to get through the blockade. There were other operations going on in Canada too.
That Rose Greenhow was quite the gal!

Most of the Confederate operatives in Canada were based in Montreal. There's a book about it called Montreal: City of Secrets.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

There are various Civil War stories involving supposed lost or stolen Confederate gold that stirs the imagination.

Some of these intriguing stories include:-

. the gold of the Confederate Treasury and Richmond Banks stolen in transit during the flee from Richmond at the end of the war;

. the lost gold of the Bank of Louisiana and other New Orleans banks that was sent to Georgia early in the war and was apparently never recovered;

. a large quantity of gold coins belonging to the Georgia State Bank of Savannah that were hidden in Macon and apparently was also never found.

 

[Library Lady]

Since we're into tales of Confederate gold, here is a more recent one (2017) by Steve Berry. This is part of a series of modern political thrillers that are based on some sort of historical conspiracy. It got my attention because of the Civil War tie, and now I'm working my way through Mr. Berry's other books whenever I find the historical conspiracy tie appealing. So, yes, I like it more than the Kirkus Review does and would recommend it for escapist reading for entertainment. I also like Mr. Berry's play on words in the title.

The Lost Order by Steve Berry

THE LOST ORDER | Kirkus Reviews

Berry’s (The 14th Colony, 2016, etc.) latest brews another thriller from the formula that’s put him on the bestseller lists: modern bad guys discover a historic conspiracy that can make them rich and/or give them power to overturn the American republic.

www.kirkusreviews.com